Scarabaeidae

The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 35,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several groups formerly treated as subfamilies have been elevated to family rank (e.g., Bolboceratidae, Geotrupidae, Glaresidae, Glaphyridae, Hybosoridae, Ochodaeidae, and Pleocomidae), and some reduced to lower ranks. The subfamilies listed in this article are in accordance with those in Catalog of Life (2023).

Scarab beetle
Central European scarab beetles with some anatomical details. Edmund Reitter's Fauna Germanica, 1908
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Scarabaeiformia
Superfamily:	Scarabaeoidea
Family:	Scarabaeidae Latreille, 1802
Subfamilies
Aclopinae Blanchard, 1850 Aegialiinae Laporte, 1840 Allidiostomatinae Arrow, 1940 Aphodiinae Leach, 1815 Aulonocneminae Janssens, 1946 Cetoniinae Leach, 1815 Chironinae Blanchard, 1845 Dynamopodinae Arrow, 1911 Dynastinae MacLeay, 1819 Eremazinae Stebnicka, 1977 Hopliinae Latreille, 1829 Lichniinae Burmeister, 1844 Melolonthinae MacLeay, 1819 Oncerinae LeConte, 1861 Orphninae Erichson, 1847 Pachydeminae Reitter, 1902 Phaenomeridinae Erichson, 1847 Podolasiinae Howden, 1997 Rutelinae MacLeay, 1819 Scarabaeinae Latreille, 1802 Sericinae Kirby, 1837 Sericoidinae Erichson, 1847 Termitotroginae Wasmann, 1918 Trichiinae Kolbe, 1897 Valginae Schenkling, 1922 † Cretoscarabaeinae Nikolajev, 1995 † Electrorubesopsinae Bai & Wang, 2018 † Lithoscarabaeinae Nikolajev, 1992 † Prototroginae Nikolajev, 2000

 

Scarabs are stout-bodied beetles, many with bright metallic colours, measuring between 1.5 and 160 millimetres (0.059 and 6.3 in). They have distinctive, clubbed antennae composed of plates called lamellae that can be compressed into a ball or fanned out like leaves to sense odours. Many species are fossorial, with legs adapted for digging. In some groups males (and sometimes females) have prominent horns on the head and/or pronotum to fight over mates or resources. The largest fossil scarabaeid was Oryctoantiquus borealis with a length of 50 millimetres (2.0 in).

 

The C-shaped larvae, called grubs, are pale yellow or white. Most adult beetles are nocturnal, although the flower chafers (Cetoniinae) and many leaf chafers (Rutelinae) are active during the day. The grubs mostly live underground or under debris, so are not exposed to sunlight. Many scarabs are scavengers that recycle dung, carrion, or decaying plant material. Others, such as the Japanese beetle, are plant-eaters.

Some of the well-known beetles from the Scarabaeidae are Japanese beetles, dung beetles, June beetles, rose chafers (Australian, European, and North American), rhinoceros beetles, Hercules beetles and Goliath beetles.

Several members of this family have structurally coloured shells which act as left-handed circular polarisers; this was the first-discovered example of circular polarization in nature.

In Ancient Egypt, the dung beetle now known as Scarabaeus sacer (formerly Ateuchus sacer) was revered as sacred. Egyptian amulets representing the sacred scarab beetles were traded throughout the Mediterranean world.

• Dung beetle – Scarabaeidae dung beetles play an important role in temperate and tropical environments
• List of Scarabaeidae subfamilies and tribes
• Scarab artifact